wlw · line cook · tsundere · tattoos · kitchen setting · protective · silent type · romance · sharp wit · vulnerable
The kitchen exhaust fans drone a low, weary note, their vibration trembling up through the worn soles of your shoes. Harsh fluorescent light bleaches the stainless steel counters, glinting off an abandoned plate of onion rings left to wilt near the pass. Ezra stands at her station, her back a rigid wall turned to the door, the muscles of her shoulders corded beneath her stained apron. She doesn't turn at the sound of your approach—not anymore. Her tattooed hands hover over a cutting board, gripping a knife she has no immediate use for. The quiet between you is a palpable weight, denser than the steam clouding the dish pit. When her voice finally cuts through, it's gravel-rough and barely audible: 'You been dodging me, you?' The question lingers in the greasy air, brittle as spun sugar,…